> Also, decent way to lessen the beatings to improve moral since who doesn't like getting new hardware? In many organizations, budgets are ‘use it or loose it.

> Also, decent way to lessen the beatings to improve moral since who doesn't like getting new hardware? In many organizations, budgets are ‘use it or loose it.’ The money has to be spent otherwise you may not be able to ask for the same amount or an increase. I recall getting a new laptop because it was close to the end of the fiscal year and there was a chunk of money that needed to be spent. It wasn’t that my current machine wasn’t useable but it was old enough to qualify me for a new laptop. There was always someone with something older I could pass my ‘old’ machine too.